Citrus is not easy to grow nowadays in its home range because of greening disease. It is getting more expensive all the time in the store. We have all seen and posted Russ Finch work but have you priced it out? The price looks better all the time!
10x $156
https://www.homedepot.com/p/OPTIX-48-in-x-96-in-x-0-118-1-8-in-Clear-Acrylic-Sheet-MC-100S/205351353
6 x $233.58 - https://www.homedepot.com/p/6-in-x-100-ft-Singlewall-Solid-Drain-Pipe-6510100/100148676
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i have 3 citrus and a pomegranate in pots indoors right now. with our snow, it would be a big job to keep a greenhouse snow free and heated properly. probably not worth it unless you went high tech enough to take advantage of keeping that heat on sunny days to offset for the many cold cloudy days in the winter here. I’ve thought about adding a sunporch on the south side of the house that has sunblind’s i can open up and close to control the temps in there. would also help supplement our heating bill in the winter. in the summer i could have a door going into the house i could close to keep the heat from entering the house in the summer from the porch. my cousins house has a set up like that with also a jacuzzi surrounded with tropical plants. very cool!
It’s going to be a cheaper to buy citrus fruit in the store than to grow it in that style of GH. The GH is expensive, and the output is limited.
That’s probably true, but if you wanted to grow specialty items that you can’t readily buy and it’s the hobby you love, it could still be worth it. Some people spend thousands on vacations and cruises, I spend thousands on plants and seeds (and support inputs, like greenhouses). 
I’ve got a big greenhouse and I’ve grown a lot of fruit in it. I’ve sold quite a bit of that fruit. But cost of production was several times my sales. Now when I went to selling fig plants it was another matter. My gross profit margin was about 75%. So, sell fruit at 1/4 cost of production or fig plants at 4x cost, take your choice.
The right choice would be to sell plants and buy fruit.
I’m not disagreeing with you, just bringing a different perspective. Not everyone does things because it’s the most efficient or profitable thing to do.
Greenhouse citrus is really only financially reasonable in a place that is just slightly out of citrus range, like North Carolina. You don’t have to heat it 99% of the time.
He did mention he propagates meyer lemons and others bu simply sticking theminthe ground to root.
Very true. To Fruitnut’s credit, this post does seem to be talking about the financial side…BUT, for many of us the financial loss being narrowed may make it worth it on a small, hobby scale. Also the financial loss being lessened might allow some of the smarter members (obviously not me lol) to figure out a way to close the gap through some innovative techniques. I’m probably the least smart person on here engineering wise, but even I was able to keep a greenhouse within the range Meyer lemon can survive for all but a few nights with only solar heating. The nights I failed it only hit 17 in there. If I could improve methods and/or install an efficient heater I could probably grow the hardy citrus that survives in southern NC like Meyer. Still may not be commercially viable, but would at least be an affordable loss.
I’m struggling between two. I like growing some things I expect to always lose money on. They’re just fun. I’m also trying to find crops that can supplement my family’s income while allowing us to do something we love.
I’ve been dabbling in the nursery side to try to offset some of my planting costs. Do you mind sharing what figs you found to be most worthwhile as far as trying to sell? I understand if that’s “confidential” so don’t share if you aren’t comfortable.
I have considered trying to buy in and grow some rarer, higher priced varieties, in theory that’d be more profitable, but in practice I’ve wondered if by the time I’ve bought, rooted, and fruited variety x everyone else has too and the price has come down. Also, how many buyers even want to purchase a plant that’s higher because it’s novel? I’ve wondered if it’s better to just focus on the well known standards because they’ll have name recognition plus search visibility, ie folks are already searching “Chicago Hardy” on selling sites. Just wondering if there’s a sweet spot between prohibitively expensive and ubiquitous varieties.
Thanks!
I made my fig money by chasing the newest hottest varieties and pushing out plants before anyone else. But that was during covid when sales were robust. It’s a much tougher business now. More sellers and less hot new material. Too many people way ahead of a beginner. I spent several years building inventory of good varieties and learning growing/grafting before venturing into the hot stuff.
Growing the old standards is hardly worth it right now IMO. You might make $10 a plant. My average selling price over 7 years was near $100. But I paid 1-2.5 K for hot stuff at least three times. Made a big profit in 12-18 months.
Say what you will about taking advantage of people but that’s capitalism at work. Nearly everything was sold at auction. Didn’t twist anyone arm. And could have gotten more with fixed prices. But fixed prices are much harder to manage. You don’t know when anything will sell. I packaged and shipped everything myself and needed a schedule to manage 20-30 plants a week.
People that bought from me in covid are now the top sellers. I quit because of age. I started at 72.
Thanks! I definitely will work on growing some old standbys for a while before playing with the big boys haha. I won’t cry nearly as bad if I kill a cutting I traded something I already had for. I’d probably shed a tear if I paid 2k and killed it.
I would have to do auction on the high price stuff, or at least sell online. I feel like especially with an auction, but really any sale on an online platform, as long as you are truthful in your description any price you can get is perfectly moral. Someone searched for something, found you, and either decided your price was good and offered to buy, or in case of an auction actively decided what they would pay and offered that. Obviously they had a reason and made an informed decision. If they paid 5k for a twig I wouldn’t feel bad
On the other hand I’d feel like an awful person if a neighbor came to me looking for a fig to grow and I sold him into a $100 plant.
In person I sell everything too cheaply. My fruit at auction would have brought 2-3x what I sold it for in person. But tree ripe fruit isn’t something I’d ship.
Good to know I’m not the only one. I think part of it is that I myself am a cheapskate and wouldn’t want to pay what things are probably worth, so I have a hard time “charging” someone a lot. It’s much easier online because you don’t feel like you’re “charging” the customer, but rather you’ve put something out for sale and they’ve “offered” to buy it.
Probably a distinction without a difference. Also possibly because I just sell a few things out of my yard. If I had a retail setup with price tags it would likely change my thought process. Hard to tell though.
Same here. I think what would I pay for that? In my case not much for most things.
I’ve changed my perspective on that a little. If money were no object, I’d certainly be willing to pay more for things. So, when I sell produce, protein, or value added products at prices that I might not buy it for, it’s not because it’s not worth it, but more because I don’t have the expendable funds for it.
Actually, the reason I started growing things myself 25 years ago after being raised a “city-girl”, is because I couldn’t afford to buy some of the higher quality food items. So, people can pay me to grow or raise them (and pay me what it’s worth), they can buy cheap inferior products or they can grow it themselves. That’s my take. 
I like your take. It’s the right way to think about this.
I don’t disagree with your logic. I just have to force myself to apply it lol. Like I said, for some weird reason it doesn’t bother me to advertise at a higher price, it’s when someone standing in front of me asks the price that I falter lol.